Metallic vehicle-wheel.



E. K. BAKER.

METALLIC VEHICLE WHEELl APPuATloN FILED Nov. ze, 1912.

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. vI'VIETALLIC VEHICLE WHEEL.V

APPLICATION FILED N'OY. 26. 1912. i

1,199,859. Patented oef. 3,1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I :III

E. AK. BAKER.

METALLIC VEHICLE WHEEL. lH PLICATHJN HLEU NOV. 25,1912.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

3 SHLEIS SHEET 3 EIRLE K. BAKER, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 UIVERSAL RIM COMPANY, 0F

marALmevEmcLawnaEn Specification of Letters 'latent application mea Nqvevmber 2e, 1912. serial No; maeva.

To all whom it may concerm .Be it known that I, ERLE K. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook county,.Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improve ments Ain Metallic Vehicle-Wheels, of. whichl p ticularly adapted for being manufacturedl at a relatively low cost; which shall'be light .in weight; and which shall have ample strength to resist the severe strains to whichy such wheels are subjected in use.

A further obj ectof my invention is to provide a metallic wheel proper ofthe suspension hub type and a complementary de-v mountable tire rim, adapted to coperate toprovide a tire mounting which shall have all the desirable qualities of wheels of this character and added thereto shall be, relatively light, very strong and durable and easily manipulated both in mounting' and demounting rims and tires.

My invention consists in a metallic wheel proper of the'suspension hub type provided with a sheet metal fixed rim, and a complementary demountable tire-rim, in combination with means` for bracing and retaining the fixed rim in its normal shape and condition and preventing its distortion by the strains incident to its use.

My invention further consists in a metallic vehicle wheel provided with' av U-shaped hollow fixed rim ladapted to receive and to retain a demountable tire rim and having brace members within the fixed rim rigidly retaining the walls of the fixed rim in proper spaced relation. v

Myinvention'also consists in the several combinations and arrangements of parts and in the various features of construction, whereby the above mentioned and other objects are attained and all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention will -be more readily un'- derstood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure lis a side elevation of a pneumatic tired automobile wheel ofthe suspension hub type, embodying' my invention-.1n

one form; Fig. 2 is an enlarged transversesection of the rimpart of the wheel on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, particularlyl illustrating one of the rim-clamping devices; Fig. 3 is a sectionvsimilar to Fig. 2, but taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. lthrough one of the rimsupporting braces; Fig.A 4- is a circumferential centralsection of the demountable rim and fixed rim on the line 4-4 .of Fig. 3 Fig. 5,

is an enlarged circumferentialsection on the .line 5-75 of F ig. 1, particularly illustrating .the spacing'struts in combination-With the clampingbolt; Fig. 6 is an inner plan view of the tire rim showing the split therein and the means connecting-its ends; Fig. 7 is a perspective view o f one of the spacers shown in section in Fig. 3 Figs. 8 and 9 are cross'sectional viewsof modified forms of -rim sections; Fig. 10 is a views'imilar to Fi-g. v2 showing a combined form of fixed rim'brace and rim clamping device; Fig. 1l is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing another modified form of combined fixed rim brace and rim clamping device; Fig. 12 is a-plan view showing anothermodification of the combined fixed rim brace and .rim clamp;

Fig. 13 is an elevation of a portion ofthe y rear face of the fixed rim showing the device illustrated in Fig. l2; Fig. 14 isa view similar to Fig. 10 showing another modlfied form of fixed rim brace and rim clamping device; Fig. 15 is a similar view showing another` modified form of fixed rim brace and-rim-clamping device; and Fig. 16 is an eleva-tion of a portion of the -rear face of the fixed rim showing the device illustrated in Fig. 15.

While I have describedmy device as being particularly applicable to metallic wheels ofthe suspension hub type, 1t should be understood that it refers more particularly to the metallic fixed rim of such vwheels and to ymeans for securing a demountable rim thereon.

The apparent desire of .both manufac- UIQIS .M Ldjusers to eliminate wood entirely Patented '00133, 1916.

'ferential flange at.

sti'gen Vthe member and it also provides a from the construction of automobiles has led to the attempt, by many inventors, to produce metallic wheels particularly adapted for use with pneumatic and similar tires. The results .attained thus far, however, have not been eminently satisfactory on account of the complication and expense of the metallic wheels and their consequent extreme high cost to the user.

lt is one of the principal objects of my invention to provide a construction by means of which the cost can be reduced so that the metallic wheels can be as far as their expense is concerned at least interchangeably used with wheelsconstructed partly of wood, and it is further my desire to produce a metallic wheel which can be ymanufactured at such a low cost and which would prove itself so eminently satisfactory in use that it would serve to completely eliminate wooden wheels from this field.

ln my wheel, as illustrated in the drawings, l provide a hollow, lll-shaped fixed rim A, opening outward. rlhis ixed rim is suitably connected with a metallic hub B by means of a plurality of metallic or wire spokes C. rlhe fixed rim is adapted to receive and to retain a pneumatic tire rim D which carries a suitable pneumatic tire E. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the member A is a U-shaped annular channel. rlChe base or inner wall a is slightly crescent-shaped and thereby simulates the appearance of a wooden felly and is provided with suitable openings a2 to receive the spoke nutsl c1. The front wall a3 extends outwardly from the base and l preferably provide it at yits outer edge with an inwardly turned circum- This l'lange serves to suitable supporting or bearing surface for the rim-clamping lugs. The rear wall a5 of the fixed rim extends `radially 'outwardly parallel with the front wall and it terminates at its outer edge in an outwardly inclined circumferential flange a adapted to provide a circumferential seat for the tire rim D.

ln order to retain the tirerim upon the fixed rim, l provide a number of rim-clamping devices F, which devices carr)Y rim clamps f1 adapted to coperate with the circumferential flange a to hold the tire rim D upon the wheel. As clearly shown in Fig. 2 each rim clamping device comprises;- a bolt f2 mounted transversely in the fixed rim adjacent to the outer periphery or open side thereof and coperating withl a clamping nut f3 secured to or upon the rear wall of the lixed rim. The rim clamp f1 is mounted upon the bolt f2 immediately beneath the head f4 thereof and the bolt is' providedwith a circumferential shoulder f5 spaced from the head suliiciently to admit the shank f of the clamp between them. This cond to receive the pins d4.

meeste struction provides a device by means of which the wedging clamp f1 can be forced into clamping condition wi'thits wedging point f7 between the fixed rim and the demountable rim, and it can also be operated to positively withdraw the wedging clamp 'from its Wedging position when it is desired to release the demountable rim. rlhe nut f3 is provided with 'an upwardly extending shoulder or abutment f8 at its outer side which is adapted to Contact with the outer surface of the flange a -andserves to support the dange a. at this point. rlhe nut f3 is also provided with laterally extending nanges f by means of which the nut is secured to the lixed rim. l secure the nut to the fixed rim by means of rivets 7 and in order to brace vthe walls of the fixed rim and hold them .in

their proper spacedrelation one'to the other l extend the rivets f1 transversely through the fixed rim and they serve to tie the front and the rear Walls thereof together and prevent their separation. To rigidly hold the walls spaced apart vand thus prevent them from approaching each other, l' provide a suitable spacer' or brace which is arranged transversely between the walls and is ot a suitable length to contact with both of the walls and hold them properly spaced. ln the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. l to 5, inclusive, these spacers comprise spacer tubes f placed upon and held in position' by the rivets f1?. 'llhese tubes extend from the *rear to the front wall and when in place not only serve to hold the walls in proper spaced relation, but serve as abutments to hold the walls properly spaced while the rivets f1 are being secured in position.

It will now be clear that any force transmitted to the nut f3 throuah the bolt ,f2 when operating' either to secure or hold the rim in position, or to loosen the wedge from its clamping position cannot serve to distort the walls of thelixed rim as the walls are rigidly braced and held in proper spaced relation.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7, ll have shown the tire rim as being split or cut apart at one point d1 in its circumference. providing the rim with two ends d2 and clafor the purpose of facilitating the mountingand demounting oit the rim upon the tireE. Each end of the rim is provided with two circumterentially spaced inwardly extending projections or pins dt rigidly mounted in the rim and serving to coperate with a connector plate al which is provided with suitable openings l rlhis connector plate bridges the gap 4or `cut d1 of the rim and serves to dowel and connect the two ends of the rim together. @ne end of the rim is provided with an opening d to receive the valve e1 of the tire and the conlil@ izo

nector d5 is also provided with Va valve stern hole and I also provide the base a1 Aofthe fixed rim with' a suitable.centrally-arranged valve-stem opening a7.` 'In order toproperly support therim'adjacent to the valve I pro.`

vide two circumferentially spaced' bridges or strut members dT which extend transversely across the fixed rim and are circumferentially spaced apart `to' coperate with the projections (Z4 -of the rim, so'that one strut member is arranged at'each end of the rim and between the two projections al4v thereof. I retain each of these strut members in its position by means of a rivet d8 which extends transversely through the fixed rim and through suitable openings in the front and rear walls thereof. The outer surface @Z9 of each strut member 037 lies flush with the open top of the fixed rim and they serve as supports for the connecting plate d5. The) strut members being received between the pairs of projections, Serve to prevent relative circumferential movement between the rim and the fixed rim and thus. serve to retain .the demountable rim circumferentially'in its proper position. In order to hold the strut members 'dl from rotating upon their securing rivets at times when they are not held by the contact with the connector plate, I provide each `of these,

struty members with laterally extending arms or projections d10 at one end which 'extend circumferentially beneath the inwardly extending ange -af and thus serve to prevent the rotation of the strut upon the rivet in 'either direction. It .will now be seen thaty the walls of the fixed rim are rigidly braced at many points around its circumference and consequently the'fixed rim is retained in l'its i true and normal shape and is prevented*` from being distorted by thev -severe strains` to which it is subjected in use, not only in consequence of the strains and shocks which it receives when running over roughroads, but also from the strains incident to the clamping and loosening of the rim by means of the rim clamping bolts.

In some instances I find it advisable in-v stead of arranging the flangev a4 projecting inwardly toward theplane of the wheel to turn it outwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 8, the flange in this instance serving to stiffen the wall a3 of lthe fixed rim similar to its use in the form of rim illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. In some instances, however, I find that it is advisable not to use the flange a* atall, but to simply form up the fixed rim with a non-flanged front wall as illustrated 'in Fig. 9. This form of rimcan be made considerably cheaper than the fiangedform and for some purposes, particularly on light cars, the lessened cost is a desirable feature.

Under some conditions vI prefer to do 'away with the transverse rivets f1 and their strut tubes f and in such cases I hold the l vided on the preferred form walls properly spaced apart by spacers which are combined With the clamping bolts.

I have illustrated* several of thes'efforms Whic'hare desirable to. use unde'rj different One 'particularly -a'dvanstangeous form is that illustrated in Fig.l0v wherein I use a bolt h1 .which Aextends ltrans- 1 versely through "the fixed rim and is pro#` clrcum'stances.

vided with a head h2. adaptedl to contact with the rear face of the fixed rim andfholdthe bolt against the actionof the nut hafylnofrunt'v y ed upon itsl forward end. The bolt inthis instance is held in vposition means o f a thin nut rwhich is screwed upon the" threaded end ofthe boltv in advance lof the clamp f1. By meansof this nut L* I am enabled to clamp the'bolt inthe fixed Arim- 4independent of the mainclam'ping nut h3 and to prevent the collapsingof the walls toward each other I provide a-.sleeve strut h5 .which is placed upon the shank ofv thebolt as' the bolt is placed in position. This strutcontacts with the front and rear walls i and serves to keep them. properly spaced.

In the clamping device illustrated in Fig. 11, the bolt jl is similar to th'ebolt h1'in Fig. l0 in that it extends through the fixed rim from the rear, but instead of being held cures the head of the bolt to the rear wall. Similar to the device'shown in Fig." 10 -I here use a spacer, inthe form of a tube j on the body ofthe bolt and long enough to hold l the walls properlyspaced apart and-thebolt and spacer together serve to 'hold thewalls against distortion. l j

In the clamping deviceill'ustrated in Figs. 1-2. vand 13, the clamping boltfe".is similar to the boltshownin Figs. 10 and 11, but differs therefrom by.being' p1 ovided onits head ce with laterally extending flanges 7a2-and I secure the 'boltto the'rear wall by" means of rivets t'* which pass through the flanges and and wall spacer. In this case the bolt m1 is similar. to the bolt shown as the preferred form of devicein Fig. 2, but in this case I combine the spacer with the nut and thenut .m2, instead of extendingbut a short distance into the body of the fixed rim from the rear wa-ll, extends clear across said rim and vabuts on the inner face of the front wall and I secure the nut by rivets which extend through lateral' flanges similar to the method of securing the nut in the form shown in .Figs 12 and 13. The bolt in this instance is provided with a withdrawing shoulder m3 similar to the withdrawing 'shoulder proof the'bolt.

1 in place by a thin nut on lits threaded end i .it is heldin place by-the rivet j? which se- -In Figs. 15 and 16 I have illustrated still 130 l `and rim clamping device.

another form of combined fixed rim bracing in this formi use a bolt nl, similar to the bolt shown in the preferred form except that it is considerably shorter. rThe nut n2 itself is placed .entirely within the hollow fixed rim and extends from the rear to the front wall serving as a strut brace Within the fixed rim to prevent its walls from approaching each other. The rear end of the nut is provided with laterally extending-flanges n3 and l secure the nut to the .rear wall" by rivets at which pass through these flanges and said rear wall. The nut n2 is provided with a centrally threaded portion n to receive the threaded end n of the bolt n1.

All of these various forms of combined fixed rim bracing and rim-clamping devices include the idea of rigidly spacing the front and rear walls of the hollow fixed rim so that the same will not be distorted bythe strains transmitted through the clamping holt and further as the fixed rim isfprovided with a number` of these devices spaced at short intervals, its walls are rigidly held in normal, true condition.

It will now be understood that i have providedV a construction which results in a strong. rigid and relatively light Wheel and one which can be manufactured at a. reasonably low cost and while it is particularly 4adapted for receiving and holding asplit rim of the form illustrated, it is evident that non-split rims can be held uponthe fixed rim as securely and rigidly as split rims.

. As many other modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, l do not limit or confine lmy invention to the specific structures -herein shown and descrlbed, f Having thus described my lnventlon, l

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. in a metallic vehicle wheel of the suspension hub type a hollow-U-shaped fixed rim having its sides substantially parallel and `projecting outwardly, one of said sides terminating-'in an outwardly inclined tirerim lreceiving flange, a vplurality of nuts circum`ferentially spaced around thev fixed rim on one side, each thereof having a threaded lbolt hole, a transverse clamping bolt in meeste clamping bolt entering the nut from the opposite side of the xed rim,"rivets extending transversely through the fixed rim securing the nut in place thereon and holding the walls of the fixed rim from spreading, and strut memberson said rivets within the fixed rim and spacing the walls thereof apart- 3. in a metallic vehicle wheel of the suspension hub type, a U-shaped fixed rim having, its side walls extending outwardly and open at its outer periphery, a plurality `of rim clamping bolts circumferentially spaced around and transversely mounted in the fixed rim, rivets passing transversely through the fixed rim at each side of each bolt, and strut sleeves on Said rivets bracing the sides ofthe fixed rim in opposition to the distorting action of the operative strains of the bolt.

i. lin a metallic vehicle wheel a -U-shaped fixed rim having its open side at its outer periphery, in combinatlon with a demolmtable rim adapted to be carried by said fixed rim, threaded nuts carried on one wall of said fixed rim and clamping bolts projecting through the opposite wall of' the fixed rim and coperating with the said nuts, wedging clamps mounted between shoulders on the bolts and adapted to secure the rim on' the fixed rim, the bolts vbeing adapted to both insert and withdraw the wedges, tie rods passing through the fixed rim ad jacent to each bolt and holding the sides of the fixed rim against separation when the bolt is operated to withdraw the wedge, and spacers within the fixed rim adjacent to each tie rod adapted to hold the walls of the fixed rim in spaced 'relation against the clamping action of the bolt.

In a metallic vehicle wheel a hollow, U-shaped fixed rim having its` open side turned outwardly and one of its side walls provided with an outwardly inclined circumferential flange, a clamping nut carried by the flanged wall of the fixed rim adjacent to the outer periphery of the fixed rim, a rim clamping bolt extending transversely through the fixed rim and coperating with the nut to clamp a demountable` rim against the flange, hnd two strut members, one at each side of the bolt, and circumferentially spaced therefrom, each said member comprising a tie rod extending through'the fixed rim, and a spacing sleeve on the tie rod, said sleeve contacting with the walls of the fixed rim andv coperating with the tie rod to retain the walls of the fixed rim in proper spaced relation.

6. lln a metallic wheel having a tir-shaped fixed rim with its open side vat its outer periphery-and its rear wall terminating in an outwardly inclinedy tire rim receiving flange, a nut fixed to the rear wall of the fixed rim and having a 4flange adapted to ioo .contact with the. rearl Vface thereof, a rimv :lamping bolt extending through the. fixed rim fromv the opposite slde and coperating with the 'nut toretain a 'rim upon the fixed rim, and against'jjthe flange, a -tie rod extending transversely through the flange of the nut and serving to, secure the nut upon the fixed rim and to prevent the walls ofy demountable rim type an open-toppedk U-shapd fixed rim vadapted tovreceive and retain a rim, said -fixed rim having a circumferential tire receiving flange at oneA edge and having its other edge turned; inwardly to form a circumferential H ange,

xed rim wall spacing members. arranged adjacent tothe periphery of the fixed rim and each having a. substantially flat surface lying in the outer periphery of the fixed run, a rivet extending transversely through -the fixed rim and through each of the ,eee

spacers, and adapted to coperate With-the spacer to retain the Walls ofthe, fixed rim in proper relation, and lateral wings on each of said spacers adapted to contact'with the inner surface of the inwardly turned flange to hold the spacer with its flat surface in the periphery of the fixed rim.-

8. in a metallic wheel for demountable rims, a fixed rim of U-shaped cross section, opening outwardly, in combination with demountable-rim ,clamping devices spaced about said fixed rim, and means spaced within the fixed rim and iixing the distance v between thewalls thereof against the action of said devices, and including a rim driver.

'In testimony whereof, Ihave hereunto setV my hand, this 23rd day of November, 1912, in thev witnesses.

EBLE K. BAKER.

Witnesses :i

EDWARD F. WILSON, M. SIMON,

presence of two subscribing 

